Gabriela is from Mexico, she is currently the Communications Manager for WhatsApp Latin America, Spanish-speaking, but she had 10 years of experience in the journalistic sector specializing in Technology and telecommunications. She was a technology reporter in media such as Mundo Ejecutivo, the Excelsior newspaper and Grupo Expansión, where she was also a technology editor. Her last position in her media was as general editor of Unocero.com.
What was your first job as a journalist?
Gabriela Chávez Avilés – My first paid job as a journalist was as a reporter for the Mundo Ejecutivo business portal. The digital equipment was very new, we were all very young and eager to do and learn. I had no assigned source but I was in charge of the market opening news on a daily basis, I did analysis of indicators, current news – such as the crisis of the airline, Mexicana de Aviación – at that time and then I began to cover technology, Twitter, its use and influence were super relevant in those days.
How do you see the role of journalism today, especially in telecoms and ICT markets?
Gabriela Chávez Avilés – I think that today the role of journalism, as never before, has become crucial to help audiences understand complex phenomena in a simple way and how different events are intertwined and have an impact on society. With technologies as a transversal ingredient in various industries and on a daily basis, being able to analyze, understand and explain through journalistic exercises in different formats, I think it enriches public conversation and works as a tool to understand our world today. Another thing that I think makes journalism very relevant today is that when it is practiced with rigor and data, it works as a good filter among all the noise and misinformation that we also have on the Internet today.
How do you think corporate communications can improve in Latin America in these times?
Gabriela Chávez Avilés – It seems to me that there are two clear points of improvement. The first is the need to know the local market thoroughly; Understanding the particularities, requirements and challenges of a territory is essential to be able to communicate any message on it. And talking about technologies, I think it is even more important because Latam has a grey that does not match more developed markets and it is not very useful to want to replicate corporate communication practices 100% from another latitude, perhaps more developed or more tech savvy. And the second point of improvement that I see is the need to create and nurture relationships with the media in a more particular way, understanding the needs of each audience and taking the risk of testing communication formats depending on who is being spoken to. Maybe I could sum it up as personalization and deep local knowledge.
Any other thoughts related to this you would like to share with our audience
Gabriela Chávez Avilés – I would just like to add that journalism, no matter what format it takes to reach audiences, is key to continue building informed, democratic and constantly growing and innovative societies.
Redes
Linkedin: Gabriela Chávez Avilés
Twitter: @gchaviles
Instagram: @gavsaviles